When and why should I start thinking about modernizing my elevator?

There are a lot of different reasons a building should think of modernizing their elevator equipment; age, obsolescence, mandate, proprietary equipment, general domain knowledge, among others.  We have been focusing a lot of time and effort on working with our existing customers to get them information so they can make informed decisions on what to do with their elevator equipment today, tomorrow and in 5 to 10 years.

Golden question – How long should my elevator last? – This is a great question, each elevator is different, and each building is different.  Your elevator contractor should be able to ask you some questions and let you know what you are looking at.  Generally an elevator system should be reliable for 20 years.  Many elevator systems last a lot longer than 20 years.  Each building is different with environment, traffic, wear and tear and a few other items.

Age – Along with age comes frustration of the reliability of the elevator equipment.  Many elevator controllers installed in the 1960’s and 1970’s are wonderful platforms and very reliable but what we find is that we have so many failure points in the older relay logic systems that reliability becomes an issue.  You will have a span of a few weeks where you may get quite a few call backs, we finally resolve the issue and the building gets 4-8 months of clean run time then something comes back.  The general fatigue of the equipment presents a troubleshooting challenge that is resolved when the controller is replaced with a controller that gives better feedback, information and resolution time is cut tremendously. 

Obsolescence – You can have a great running elevator that isn’t that old but what happens when the main component of the elevator system isn’t made anymore?  Is there a direct replacement?  Do you need to send it in to get repaired by the manufacturer or a 3^rd party?  Can the building wait for the resolution or the time it takes to get the modernization equipment in?  A good elevator company should be educating the building owner when their equipment does not have replacement parts readily available.  After we hand the information off it is up to the building owner to make a good decision for their situation.

 

Mandate – When the AHJ comes into your building and say’s “we are adopting IBC Code XXXX and it is requiring you have your building equipment with fire detectors, including ones to operate the elevator”.  If you have an older elevator, you may need to replace your elevator control system.  If your elevator system is compatible with Fireman’s automatic recall, you should have pricing to modernize your elevator system anyway.

Proprietary equipment – More and more we are getting calls and taking meetings from buildings that have a multinational elevator company who installed their equipment and they cannot stand them any longer.  It may be the $4,000.00 overtime bill for changing a fuse, the technician doesn’t come very often but they pay monthly, the office doesn’t return their phone calls, their account manager has switched 8 times in 3 years, etc.  This is a big concept to digest, you have newer equipment but you are going to be paying for replacement.  If Intergalactic company XYZ installed a proprietary elevator system you are stuck between a rock and a hard place.  You are not alone and we are replacing these elevator controllers for buildings that are fed up.

 

General domain knowledge – You could have bought a control system from a big name elevator company but they only made the controller for a few years, or year, or maybe a few months.  As time goes on the domain knowledge in the elevator industry evaporates from technicians retiring and the controllers being replaced.

 

Talk to your elevator company and get something from them documenting the life left on the elevator system and a time line and the general costs associated with equipment replacement.  If your current vendor cannot get you the information in a reasonable amount of time, get someone who can.  It is better to be prepared so you are ready for what is coming your way.

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If you have any questions or would like additional information feel free to contact me at CraigZ@colleyelevator.com or 630-766-7230 ext. 107 or on our web page at www.colleyelevator.com

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